Salient » Callum Turnbullhttp://salient.org.nz
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 21:43:59 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.18Albion Placehttp://salient.org.nz/2017/08/albion-place/
http://salient.org.nz/2017/08/albion-place/#commentsSun, 06 Aug 2017 21:00:56 +0000http://salient.org.nz/?p=47843Over the last decade, Dunedin has established a rapidly growing and developing music scene, the most notable act to emerge of course being Six60. The international and local success the band found has created something of a new wave of music in the city, and at the forefront of this new wave is Albion Place. Releasing their first EP back in 2014, the band encapsulates the Dunedin student lifestyle, with a gritty but welcoming sound that resonates with the echoes of a day-long Castle Street party. Their latest single “Easier” follows the release of their self-titled EP earlier in the year, and sees the band adopting a larger sound while still retaining that essential Otago spirit. Ahead of their upcoming four date tour around New Zealand, I interviewed the band’s front man Micah Ray-Davis.

The Dunedin music scene has witnessed such a great revival in the last decade with acts like yourselves, The Shambles, and Soaked Oats. Could you pinpoint at all where you think this new wave has come from?

Strange you should say that, my mum was asking me that just last night. Yeah, it’s pretty sick, there’s so much going on. Shame there’s not many places to play, but there is a huge amount of musical output. In terms of tracking it down to a single moment, Six60 were definitely up there, obviously GROMz as well — their album just blew up on a national, even international scale, [and] people sort of realised what you can do. Dunedin has a rep for being pretty humble for the way people go about things, but then seeing someone go from nothing to something in such a short amount of time is crazy. And on top of that, Chick’s Hotel, which used to be a venue out in Port Chalmers, kind of converged into a recording studio recently. So, accessibility to things like that are key. But it’s just great to be part of it.

Encapsulating the Otago student lifestyle seems to be one of the core ideas of musicians like you and your contemporaries. When articles come out disparaging this lifestyle, do you think it impacts the scene in anyway? Or do just you carry on regardless?

It totally does, it’s not just the articles from Stuff — it’s the university itself. We tried to put on a show at Castle Street recently and it was pretty untimely. It was a year after the Six60 balcony crash. But we took a lot of precautions to make sure it was safe; we had security and made sure the flat itself didn’t have any balconies or anything like that. We got in touch with police and they gave us the thumbs up, we got in touch with Campus Watch and a few other stakeholders and we had the thumbs up from everyone. But then we had a meeting about half an hour before the gig was set to start and the university told us we’d be kicked out if we went ahead. So there’s a lot of pulling and tugging with the student centre authorities. But I don’t think it’s a “screw the system” kind of relationship, it’s more like “how can we celebrate this culture while keeping it safe?” We feel like we’ve definitely been on the exploited end of that on a couple of occasions. I guess it’s just recognising it’s an issue and trying to do what we love to do.

The first EP came out in 2014, and the track “I Will Not Forget” seemed to just explode. Did you ever figure out why the track came out as virally as it did?

Nah, I don’t think I really understand it myself! We were really young when we made it, so we had no expectations of the song. But it just seems like with Spotify nowadays, it makes it easier for songs to just blow up. So it’s all about the platform, and if people like it we’re stoked.

Do you think streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music have kind of helped detonate your career on the local and international scene?

Absolutely, it’s a totally different environment to how it was even ten years ago, but I think for bands like us it can be beneficial and we’ve just got to make the most of it and use it for all its advantages.

Your second self-titled EP came out at the start of the year and you managed to enlist Lyall Moloney [Australian hip-hop producer] to come and help work on the project. It’s a collaboration I wouldn’t normally expect because of the contrast in genres; how did you find the process of working with him? Was your approach quite different in terms of how you made music?

It was great. It was real cool because we didn’t use an official studio; we just used someone’s house in Wellington and set up there. He was really experienced and he’s a great dude/character. It was interesting; we kind of used electronic drums and stuff like that which we’re not really used to, but it was interesting to see his approach to that, and we learnt from it and came up with something we’re stoked with. It was something we felt we could build on, which is something we’re doing with this next album.

“Easier”, the latest single that has spurred this tour, is quite a notable pivot from your older work; it’s groovy but gives the instrumental a lot more room to move. Did Lyall help inspire this change, or was it just a direction you seemed to come naturally to?

Yeah, he had some really interesting points to say about using the “less is more” philosophy, which is something I hadn’t really considered in great depth before. But it was great to reflect on that process and come out with something that I guess is minimal in its instrumentation. We’ve really enjoyed the process of making the song; it goes down a slightly different path, and a lot of the songs we’re writing on this new album are slightly different from that too. Because we just like making different kinds of music, aye?

Have there been any artists or albums catching your attention as of late?

Heaps heaps heaps. I’ve been listening to a lot of Paul Simon recently, I think he put a new album out last year, but it’s his early stuff I’ve really been getting into. In terms of more modern stuff, there’s a couple of guys. Nick Hakim, he just put out his new album which is absolutely fantastic and again uses that kind of minimal sound to create some mean grooves, and that’s something that this other guy from Australia, Jordan Rakei, does. He put out an album last year that’s kind of in the same vein, it just has a lot going on but you know, not much, and achieves a lot with a little.

So, you probably find people like Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, etc. to be your influences for the most part…

Yeah just kind of in terms their approach to music rather than their actual songs and stuff, just the way they see it is really inspiring to me. To be able to share poetry and emotion are just what I love about making music.

What are the plans for Albion Place going forward from this tour? Any plans or ideas that you’re looking to explore?

Yeah, so we’ve got our first album recording session next week. I think we’re going do it over two or three sessions, and do it slightly DIY at home as well. After that, we’ve got a few festivals lined up for the summer, and we’ll do another tour; I’ve started planning an Australian tour so it would be sick to get over there for the first time, do a few shows. It’s very early days in the organisation but it’s coming along.

Albion Place’s latest single “Easier” is out now on any sensible streaming service. They are performing in Wellington at Meow on August 11.

Wesley Willis is probably the wildest rock ‘n’ roll artist in history. Willis was born in the Midwest music metropolis Chicago, Illinois, and survived a traumatic childhood. He developed severe paranoid schizophrenia in the late ’80s as a result of the abuse he endured but, through this turmoil, emerged as one of the strangest, heart-warming, and lyrically astounding punk musicians and artists of the ’90s. The 300 pound giant became a cult icon not only because of his lyrically delightful verses, but also his engaging personality and peculiar demeanour.

The base level of crude humour is apparent in songs like “Suck a Cheetah’s Dick”with great throwaway lines sprinkled in like “tell your barber you’re sick of looking like an arsehole” and “the lake of fire tore his arse up.” When you listen to his other records, there’s a level of depth, context, and emotion coming out of the frontman’s paranoia. The more politically informed songs pose questions to Ronald Reagan such as “what the fuck are you doing in my house?” and state the dread many African Americans feel — “when the police pulled up, I was doomed.” The production is about as lo-fi as it gets, however it’s undeniably heartfelt, reflective, and informed by Wesley’s own bizarre life. His artwork, despite its initially elementary appearances, is surprisingly astounding, and noted for its detailed recreation of Chicago’s cityscapes and public transport buses.

But Willis’s personality was what sold many people, regardless of their thoughts on his actual records. Wesley developed a large bump on his forehead over his lifetime as he would always greet people by bumping his head with theirs and ask them to “Say Ra!” and “Say Raw!” for no reason at all. Despite his intimidating stature, people never seemed scared to come and engage with him to discuss how his psychotic episodes, known as joy (good)/hell (bad) rides, were treating him, a bit of chat about the three demons “Heartbreaker”, “Nervewrecker”, and “Meansucker” that taunted him, and ultimately how the rock and/or roll lifestyle was. The man had an amazing circle of friends in record shops, including Sublime’s front runner Bradley Nowell, and Dead Kennedy’s founder Jello Biafra. Biafra said in an interview that Wesley, and the way he assembled his works, “are like no else. Ever.”

Wesley passed away in 2003 due to leukaemia that ultimately deteriorated his health beyond repair, but he will live on in the hearts and minds of all those who dare to Whoop Spiderman’s, Batman’s, or Ronald Reagan’s arse. Rock Over London, Rock on Chicago.